At 70, Holy Cross women's hockey coach Peter Van Buskirk is still going strong — and so is his team.

The Crusaders have advanced to five straight ECAC Open Tournament championship games and have started this season 5-2. One of those victories — a 3-2 triumph at St. Michael's — was Van Buskirk's 200th as coach of the HC women.

"As I told people, if you're here long enough …" Van Buskirk said. "It goes to the kids. I've had some good kids. (Women's hockey) is an emerging sport, it still is, so everything has gotten better over the years. As far as numbers, there are more kids coming along and getting involved and playing."

Van Buskirk has coached the HC women for 14 of the team's 15 years of existence. He's been involved with Holy Cross hockey for 30 years, having coached the men's team from 1979-1988 and in 1996-97. He was a men's assistant from 1991-96. His overall coaching record at Holy Cross is 368-265-33.

Van Buskirk's passion for the sport and his players is as strong now as it was 40 years ago, when he was coaching the Hudson High team.

"You have to be enthusiastic about what you're doing," Van Buskirk said. "When you look at the energy and the focus and commitment of the kids you can't do anything less. For me, I feel like I'm still playing the games I played in my neighborhood — that's the type of feeling I have when I'm coaching."

Van Buskirk is a member of the Hudson High and University of New Hampshire halls of fame, and in 2010 he was honored with the John "Snooks" Kelly Founders Award for his contributions to the overall growth and development of hockey in the United States.

Van Buskirk has guided the Crusaders to seven straight winning seasons and this year's team looks strong again.

"This year's team is one of the more balanced teams I've had over the years," Van Buskirk said. "We have four active lines, six pretty solid defensemen and two of the best goalies I've had here. We're pretty solid."

Holy Cross has fortified its defense, which is led by junior Francesca Panarelli of Shrewsbury and seniors Amanda Gallagher and Emily Sullivan, with the addition of three new players — freshmen Izzy Bagi and Erin Hall and sophomore Taylor McGee, a transfer from Penn State.

Freshman Rose Rather is the team's leading scorer with five goals and five assists. Juniors Alexandra Stevenson (3-1) and Krista Manzanares (2-1 with two shutouts) have shared time in goal.

WPI turns to Davis

Aaron Davis had no choice but to mature quickly. And he did.

Last season as a freshman, Davis started 27 of WPI's 29 games at point guard and helped lead the Engineers to a NEWMAC title and the second round of the NCAA Division 3 Tournament.

"We handed him the ball and said, 'You're going every game,'" WPI coach Chris B artley said. "In the type of big games we play, he might as well be a junior now. He has that feel about him."

Davis does seem older than the sophomore he is. Through No. 15 WPI's first four games of 2013-14, he's done a great job running the Engineers' offense, averaging 5.5 assists, 6 points and 3 steals. His assist-to-turnover ratio is plus-3.67.

"I think the year of experience has made me more confident out there," Davis said, "and playing with these guys (for the second straight year) there's more chemistry. We have a great group of guys."

WPI, which suffered its first loss of the season Saturday at Castleton State, defeated Worcester State Tuesday night.

Davis has already benefited from having new assistant coach Ryan Flynn with the team this year. Flynn was a former standout WPI guard from 2003-06.

"Aaron has really starting to understand how to play with a change of tempo and a change of pace," Bartley said, "and Ryan has done a great job with Aaron because they are similar players. They both have a lot of quickness, a lot of athleticism and Flynny had to learn how to change pace more and be harder to guard. Although Aaron is not scoring a ton, he's really finding guys. He seems a lot more in control of the game than he did last year."

Crusaders' prospects

The 30 senior members of the Holy Cross football team who wrapped up their careers last Saturday won only five games their last two seasons and the Crusaders finished with a losing record in back-to-back years for the first time in coach Tom Gilmore's decade-long tenure.

Despite the recent struggles, team captains Mike Fess and Roman San Doval believe the future of the program is bright.

"One hundred percent, absolutely," said Fess, who ended his career as HC's all-time leader in receptions. "The guys in that locker room that are coming back are the hardest workers I ever met and Coach Gilmore and the coaching staff, they're never going to be complacent. They're always striving toward bigger and better things. I just have so much faith in those guys and I'm going to miss them and I wish I could be around when they turn this thing around."

Several members of Gilmore's first scholarship class showed promise.

Freshman Peter Pujals, who took over the starting quarterback duties in Week 5, was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year. Pujals completed close to 64 percent of his passes for 2,261 yards and 19 touchdowns. He threw eight interceptions. Pujals was also the team's second-leading rusher.

Freshman Gabe Guild dealt with some injuries, but emerged as the team's lead running back and scored five touchdowns in nine games. Linebacker Kyle Young played in 11 games and made four starts.

He finished with 32 tackles, a pair of forced fumbles and an interception. Wide receiver Jake Wieczorek caught 12 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns and also returned kicks. Running back Brendan Flaherty and free safety Luke Ford also made some contributions.

"There's no doubt in my mind we'll get things turned around," said SanDoval, who led HC in tackles this season. "The last two years have been tough, but as long as you have Coach Gilmore, as long as you've got the type of Holy Cross players who are here, we'll be able to turn things around and get on the right track."

Fess, who led the team with 75 receptions for 893 yards and nine touchdowns, earned All-Patriot League second-team honors along with senior punter John Macomber and senior offensive tackle Kyle Pedretty. Macomber averaged 40.8 yards on 51 punts and Pedretty helped HC average 395.3 yards and 27 points.

Contact Jennifer Toland at jtoland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTandG.

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